Planes, Trains, confusion and Cambodia

We've been more then fortunate in so many ways on this trip so far; the people we've met, connections made, sights seen, experiences had... However the nature of our trip being what it is , we've run into a few 'logistical' snags along the way which I should mention.

About two weeks after arriving in Thailand, we were informed by a friend of a friend that the laws had just changed regarding visas for foreign visitors (since we arrived!!...great timing). Basically all foreigners will now only receive a stamp for 15 days on their passport instead of at least 30, as it had previously been. This is for border crossings only, and doesnt change anything for those flying into the country. For us this means a visa trip to a neighboring country every 15 days in order to stay in Thailand as long as we want. Two weeks ago we spent a day on a bus to get to Mae Sae, the Myanmar border, and tomorrow we will take a similar trip to Cambodia. Luckily for us, the trip to Cambodia happens to coincide with a Baha'i conference happening there in a town called Batambang at the weekend which Ali plans to go to, so Quinny and I might tag along so we all get to see some of rural Cambodia...

We planned for a while now to change our schedualed flight to Australia on Feb 3rd, to a later date, as we decided that we wanted to prolong our time in SE Asia. In our experience, doing this (date change) has always been no problem, but this time around, Quantas have made things difficult for us...(yes, its all their fault). Long story short; they told us all the seats in our "class" are full on the dates we want, and instead of moving us to another seat in another class - of which there are many - for the same price, we are being put on a waiting list and have to wait for an seat to open up.

In summary; We now have no confirmed flight out of Singapore. By going to Cambodia, we miss our flight and must wait to be contacted when seats open up...which they should have by around the 13th/14th, giving us time to make our way down through Malaysia. Bit of a risk, but we'll get there eventually. And staying in SE Asia longer, we spend a lot less then going early to Oz.

On a lighter note, we did just come back from eating a ridiculously great meal (steak, chips, free salad bar, fruit, dessert) in Sizzler for about 3 euro. Yesterday we spent our day playing pool, bowling, at the cinema, and finished it off with an hour long thai massage ... all for 'a few euro like'...I'm sitting in flip flops and shorts sipping an iced coffee. And its January. Forgive me if I'm not exactly filled with pessimism at the moment...!!

Chiang Mai on a bike

For anyone spending time in Thailand, I'd highly recommend a trip up to Chiang Mai at some stage. It's sort if like the capital of the north, and its much smaller than Bangkok. The city has many things to do, is rich in culture and history (riddled with temples and old walls) and is much more accessible to the average traveler than "krung thep"...

We spent most of our time buzzin around the city on bikes which was one of the most simply enjoyable things I've done in a while. "Nong Fa" at the baha'i centre was kind enough to ride around with us for the first few days then once we got to know the city we formed our own biker gang and tried to assert our dominance over rival gangs. That did'nt really take off so we just spent our time spinnin in and around the city at night getting lost.

It's been tricky for some reason trying to put photos on the blog recently, but I did manage to get one or two up. above is one of Ali in chiang mai that I took from the back of a bike with nong Fah driving... I have been able upload some photos of the last while on facebook (including a few on the bikes). Here are the public links:

Bangkok, Chiang Mai, & other pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=205957&l=ea5b4&id=887685205

Om Koi pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=204839&l=f6e83&id=887685205

"Mai khao jai"

I'll start by saying with no exaggeration that our time in Om Koi was an amazing experience. I know I speak for the 3 of us in saying that the time we spent there has really affected us and others in a positive way. There were challenges, there were tough times and coming from our part of the world there were things to adjust to that we did find difficult. But in a short time, anybody who goes there with an open mind and good intentions will inevitably benefit from the experience.

The most impressive and striking thing to me, right from the start, was the group of around 40 kids that we stayed with at the Baha'i center. These kids (aged roughly between 12 and 17) were completely self-sufficiant, disciplined, hard working, happy and well mannered children. We kept asking "who looks after them?', or "who does this for them?", etc. Jaya contributes greatly to the center, overlooking everything, bringing supplies from Chiang Mai and co-ordinating activites. But when he returns home to Bangkok for weeks at a time, things continue to run smoothly without him. The kids will everyday; rise at 5.30AM, exercise, cook, clean, wash clothes, pray, go to school, come back, cook & clean more, pray, study & do homework, play some games, sing songs, have some discussions and go then to bed early...all by themselves, without a need for any adult supervision or strict guidance. There seemed to be an elaborate and unspoken system whereby the older children assumed the role of supervisor with more responsibility, making sure things went smoothly, and all the younger kids carried out whatever duties they had to without question. There were rosters and time tables for who did what & when, particularly regarding cooking and cleaning. And these children were among the happiest, most joyful, attentive and intelligent young people we've ever met; always making time to balance work and play, include you in whatever they can or just sit around and have fun with you, talking about anything and always wanting to learn something about your culture and teach you about theirs.

It was a remarkable routine to watch, and I couldn't stop thinking just watching them everyday how much more disciplined they were to me and how we could all learn a thing or two from this kind of lifestyle back in our part of the world.

We spent the first few days getting to know the kids and the area around us. We sang songs and played games in the evenings, and during the day we went to the local schools (Ali and David to the high school, and me to the primary school) and started to work out a routine of what we'd be doing over the next few weeks. I was mostly teaching English and playing music, Ali was teaching English also and doing some dance workshops, and Quinny made some good contributions by painting in the school and decorating a wall in the Baha'i center with a well designed nine point star.

At weekends we made excursions to the local (and extremely remote) tribal villages, which took hours to reach, even in Jaya's 4x4, because of some disastrous roads. But really enjoyed all of these trips as it was so adventurous and we were welcomed so warmly in each village we visited.
The diet of Thai food (chicken/rice/spice) twice a day everyday - although delicious and healthy - began to take its toll on some of us...that's all that needs to be said on the matter. Also, for a while we had no hot water. I remember the day when I went to use the shower and Quinny was in the bathroom; I knocked and said "Are you in the shower?". Audibly shivering and grunting under the cold shower, he replied in the rattiest tone "Y-Yeah man...I'm gettin the next bus home..."

But instead of talking about what we missed, I want to mention what we gained. We have all so many memories and stories to tell of our time in Om Koi: I would'nt even attempt to summarize these into a blog as it would be too difficult and undoubtedly boring to read. But I can say that we learned a lot about the Thai people, the tribal cultures, and (here's the cheese) about ourselves.

Thank you to Uncle Jaya, and all the Om Koi baha'i community that looked after us and helped give us an unforgettable experience. Hope to see you all again...Khorp Khoon ma khrap...

Back from the wild...well, kind of...

We are now back in Bangkok, staying in Nonthaburi with uncle Vaughan. Up north in Om Koi and Chiang Mai we had little or no computer/internet access for a few weeks(which I'm not complaining about!!), so I am only now getting around to the updating the blog, sorting photos, etc. After all the moving around from Om koi to Chiang Mai, from there to Bangkok, down to Ko Samet and back, its time to settle again; Time to 'regroup', reflect, organise, etc... We will stay for about 2 more weeks here. There's talk of a visa trip to Cambodia which might coincide with a Baha'i conference there, but we'll cross that bridge (or border) when we come to it. After that, we will move south through Malaysia, then on to Singapore to catch our flight in February which will take us to that big aul' country where they used to send all the Irish criminals and fenian's...now we are going by our own accord; how the tables have turned...